Category Archives: Travel

FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS

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When we were planning a spring break trip this year, the omicron variant was surging, and no one wanted to deal with the hassle of air travel.  Instead, we spent some relaxing time in Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, about 4 hours from Houston.  Fredericksburg, named after Prince Frederick of Prussia, was founded in 1846.  It was the second German Town in Texas founded by the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants (didn’t know they needed protection, but OK).

 

Main Street buildings

We stayed at Helix Haus, a tidy rental not too far from Main Street, with plenty of room for our group:

No trip to Fredericksburg is complete without a visit to a winery for a tasting, and our visit to Southold Farm & Cellar, which believes in “farming first and non-interventionist cellar methods,” was a highlight of our trip.  It’s off the beaten path, but worth seeking out.

We opted for The Prologue tasting experience, which was 4 wines paired with beautifully composed small plates.  It was fabulous.

meat and cheese plate
crab fingers
grilled octopus
pork belly

We hope to return for one of their Sunset Suppers in the future.

Take a few minutes to step inside St. Mary’s Catholic Church, located on Main Street.  The church, built in 1908, is one of the Texas Hill Country’s 20 painted churches (that brings our total up to four — 16 to go):

I was really looking forward to seeing Texas wildflowers and planned several activities around wildflower viewing, but unfortunately, spring had not yet reached Fredericksburg.  Redbuds and fruit trees were just beginning to flower, but mostly everything was 50 shades of brown:

The only place we saw bluebonnets was at The Pottery Ranch, a colorful place that claims to be “quite possibly, the coolest store ever.”

A sneaky lizard came home with us:

We stopped in at Das Peach Haus, and after loading up on Fischer & Wieser sauces and such (that raspberrry chipotle sauce!) to cart home, we lazed around the lake sipping peach wine:

We spent part of an afternoon doing a driving tour of the LBJ ranch in the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park:

We had an unexpectedly good time at The Speakeasy at Salvation Spirits, “the only speakeasy in Fredericksburg,” which describes itself as a cocktail laboratory.  Salvation Spirits is a distillery that makes its own gin and vodka, which is used in the creative cocktails at The Speakeasy.  Make a reservation, and let Sean and Tyler mix you up something delicious while you relax in the cool space:

We spent several hours strolling Main Street, which provided lots of shopping opportunities.  We got quite a charge out of Rustlin’ Rob’s Gourmet Texas Foods, with its dazzling array of sauces, pickles, nuts, smoked meats, and preserves, among other things.  There were samples of everything, and I swear there were folks in there treating it like their personal buffet, Covid be damned:

We were powerless to resist the siren song of Pritzer Sweet Shop:

Of course, dining was an important part of our trip.  We started with a belt-busting breakfast at Texas Sunrise:

See the money pinned to the ceiling?  It’s for a raffle — at the end of the year the money is split between the raffle winner and the local football team.  Go Billies!

The entrees were humongous:

The Papa Bear and Chicken Fried Steak

The Loaded Scramble and Super Veggie Omelet

Just for grins we tried the Chocolate Covered Bacon, which was interesting to try once (and only once):

We got a kick out of breakfast at the kitschy Airport Diner, “a classic 1940s diner, located next door to the Hangar Hotel and immediately adjacent to the Gillespie County Airport aircraft parking ramp.”

It was fun to watch the little planes come and go while we ate:

The breakfasts were substantial, and provided plenty of fuel for the day’s activities:

Eggs As You Like and the SOS

The Preflight and a Three Egg Omelet

Given the town’s heritage, a German meal was a must.  We chose The Auslander Restaurant and Biergarten for “the finest in authentic German cuisine.”  To our dismay, the restaurant, like most of the restaurants in Fredericksburg, does not take reservations, and we waited an hour and a half to go on this culinary journey.

Be sure to wear your stretchy pants:

Schnitzel Wiener Art and Chicken Schnitzel

Smoked Sausage and German Meatballs

We resisted the urge to create culinary erotica with the sausage and meatballs.  (Or did we?  After waiting an hour and a half we were pretty punchy.)

We tested our patience with another hour and half wait at Hondos on Main, a popular restaurant featuring live music and dancing.

We all had burgers, which you can pretty much picture, but the Three Crunchies (Curly Q Potato Fries, Onion Strings, and Fresh Fried Parmesan Potato Chips), and the “tall and strong” Handmade Margaritas deserve an Honorable Mention:

We shared some respectable barbecue at Eaker Barbecue, recently named to Texas Monthly’s 50 Best BBQ Joints.

We really enjoyed an upscale dinner at the lovely Cabernet Grill (which does take reservations!):

Highlights of the meal included roasted carrot soup:

Still talking about this!

Maple bourbon pork belly burnt ends and Mexican street corn:

And a cleverly presented pork shank, and grilled shrimp:

Our final night in Fredericksburg we gave up trying to find a place with less than an hour and a half wait, and got a takeout pizza from West End Pizza Co., which made everyone happy and allowed us to have a relaxed last evening before heading home the next morning:

Our trip to Fredericksburg was an easy getaway and a nice respite.  I’m sure we’ll return one day, maybe in the fall next time for a Sunset Supper at Southold Farm & Cellar.

SPRING BREAK IN PALM SPRINGS — PART 2

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In addition to all the great activities, we also enjoyed some wonderful meals in Palm Springs.  Unlike Houston, where we’ve been dining in for almost a year, California was not yet allowing dine in when we first got there.  A few days into our trip, however, restaurants were allowed to resume dine-in dining at 25% capacity.

Our first night we enjoyed a delicious meal at Roly China Fusion, a great start to our vacation.

The outdoor dining was set up around a pool, with a giant inflatable swan drifting from table to table:

We began with Szechuan Chicken Dumplings, Pork Pot Stickers, and a martini glass full of Popcorn Lobster:

Szechuan Chicken Dumplings
Pork Pot Stickers

Popcorn Lobster

Moving on to the entrees, we shared Pad See Ew Beef and Dan Dan’s Noodle:

Pad See Ew Beef
Dan Dan’s Noodle

Along with Miso Glazed Sea Bass and Green Curry Chicken in Clay Pot:

Miso Glazed Sea Bass
Green Curry Chicken in Clay Pot

Suffice it to say, we Roly-polied our way out of there.

We had a colorful “modern Mexican” lunch at Tac/Quila (like we can’t get our fill of Mexican food in Houston).

The highlight of this meal was the Mexican Corn (with mayo, cotija cheese, paprika, lemon zest, and cilantro), served in a cast iron skillet (taking notes): 

Other dishes our group enjoyed were the Grilled Skirt Steak Fajitas, Shrimp Nachos, and Ahi Salad:

Grilled Skirt Steak Fajitas
Shrimp Nachos
Ahi Salad

Everything was fresh and nicely presented, but in my opinion, it’s hard to beat a good ol’ Tex-Mex combo.

Based on its “instagrammability” (eye roll), we went a little out of our way to eat at the Pink Cabana at the Sands Hotel in Indian Wells.  In fairness, the restaurant and hotel were stunning:

But — I did not appreciate the hefty dose of attitude served up by the staff.  After waiting 30 minutes as our table was purportedly “being prepared” we were seated at the empty table we’d been standing next to for the entire time.  This is a pet peeve of mine, and it set a sour tone for the meal.  That said, the food was excellent, although be prepared for big prices and small portions, like this $19 Artisan Cheese Plate:

The Cabana Mezze (hummus, harissa, labneh, za’atar, and house-made yogurt naan) disappeared quickly:

Among the entrees we sampled were Cauliflower “Steak” and Petaluma Harissa Chicken (personal favorite) (pictures are not good due to dim lighting):

Not a crumb was left after our gang pounced on the Key Lime Pie and Caramel Apple Tart:

An unexpected dining surprise was the The Cafe at Shields Date Garden:

We were skeptical as we pulled into the parking lot:

But just beyond the gates is the cafe with its view of the lovely date palm gardens, which have been around since 1924 (which we unfortunately didn’t get to tour due to heavy windstorms the day before that left a lot of debris):

 

The food was great, including the Santa Fe Salad, Walleye Fish Tacos Mexican Style, and Curry Chicken Salad:

Santa Fe Salad
Walleye Fish Tacos
Curry Chicken Salad

But first place goes to the Shields Signature Date Burger, with dates, bacon, and blue cheese:

No visit to Shields Date Garden would be complete without a stop in the gift shop and one of the couple of hundred date shakes they mix up daily (seriously — gotta try one):

Everyone got a kick out of dinner at Eight4Nine, which was kind of like dining in Barbie’s dream house:

I did not hear any complaints about the generous entrees, including All Natural Filet of Beef and Five Spice Duck Confit:

Filet
Duck Confit

 

Grilled Scottish Steelhead and Smoked Portobello Mushroom Pappardelle:

Steelhead
Pappardelle

And the one that I saw everyone’s fork make a detour into, Mac and Cheese Lorraine:

The Coachella Lime Pie was nicely tart, but the 849 Caramel Macchiato Cake, with its espresso brushed chocolate cake, salted caramel drizzle, vanilla bean buttercream, chantilly, and Maldon salt flakes, was the showstopper:

Coachella Lime Pie
849 Caramel Macchiato Cake

Our last dinner in Palm Springs was at 533 Viet Fusion:

We shared a few appetizers, including Wok’d Ginger Green Beans:

Everyone had their own entree — selections included Pad Thai with Tiger Shrimp and Tiger Shrimp and Green Papaya Salad:

And Yellow Curry with Lime (vegetarian) and Ramen Red Curry Coconut Broth with Chicken Lemongrass Meatballs:

When our server learned that it was our anniversary (26 years!), he brought out several complimentary orders of an extremely delicious Coconut Lime Flan, a perfect ending to a thoroughly enjoyable meal:

Before heading to the airport, we had time for a quick brunch at Sherman’s Deli & Bakery (which had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives):

The Mushroom Barley Soup and Homemade Chicken Soup with a side of one bigass matzo ball were, um, filling:

While others made quick business of the French Dip and a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes:

 

Our spring break trip to Palm Springs was one of the best family trips we’ve taken in a while.  We had so much fun doing all the activities, and the variety of restaurants and delicious meals really enhanced the experience.